Thunderstorms
by shadow08
Summary: Lily Evans has always been afraid of thunder. it is a fact which she hates, but deals with. now caught between James Potter and a raging thunderstorm, Lily realized that maybe thunderstorms aren't so bad. oneshot


It was a desolate Friday night and most of the students of Hogwarts were in their rooms. A cold piercing wind blew through out the castle's stone hallways. Thunder clapped in the sky its deafening din reverberating in the deserted passages accompanied by the flashing of lightning. Hogwarts was in for quite a thunderstorm.

The students were gone; all of them had taken to the safety and warmth of their respective common rooms. The few students who had still been wandering about immediately decided to return to their common rooms rather than freeze on the spot.

The cold gusts of wind coupled with the already cold temperature of stone, was not a good combination.

One particular student however, had not been aware of the maelstrom of conflicting elements stirring up the castle. Lily Evans had been in the library, enjoying a few hours of studying before heading up to the Heads' Tower and patrolling with her partner. She had always studied in a cubicle at the farthest end of the library where she was shied away from the prying eyes of student and teacher alike. There she could do as she pleased.

Lily had always been afraid of thunderstorms, ever since she was a little girl. In her opinion there was nothing more horrible, more spirit-breaking than a thunderstorm. She supposed she owed her fear to her older sister Petunia who had taken it upon her eight-year-old self to ensure that her three-year-old baby sister grew up with a silly fear.

Lily hurried silently through the hallways, shivering because of the cold and whimpering at every clap of thunder. Lily hated herself for being so silly. She knew that there was no danger of her person getting hit by thunder, especially since rock was by no means a conductor of electricity but still there she stood, shaking like a child.

"Come _on_ Evans," she said shaking herself. "It's just thunder! You're a _witch_ for heaven's sake!"

Up ahead the pitter-patter of the rain was clouded by the steps of a human being bouncing off the stone walls.

"Lily?" a voice asked. "What're you doing here?"

Lily let out a breath she had been unconsciously holding. There, in the dim light of the dying flames, stood none other than James Potter, Head Boy extraordinaire. How he _ever_ became Head Boy was a mystery to Lily and a fact which she attributed to their headmaster's dottiness. And although Lily had never been able to stand the boy's apparent pig-headedness and arrogant nature, as the year went on she realized that he had indeed changed.

For starters, he knew how to handle responsibility now. There had been a reasonable decrease in the mischief-making of their little gang ever since he was appointed. Lily knew that a complete halt would be impossible but she was thankful nonetheless. He had also stopped hexing Slytherins just for the heck of it, which surprised her greatly.

And as much as Lily hated to admit it, the boy was starting to grow on her, more so than even she had the courage to describe.

"Lily?" James repeated. "Lily, are you alright?"

Snapping out of her reverie, the redhead quickly focused her attention to the person in front of her.

"Y-Yes, quite alright James." She answered. '_Hold on,_' she thought incredulously to herself. '_Since when has it been **James**?_'

"What are you doing down here?" he asked, repeating his earlier question.

"I was in the Library," she answered. "I didn't realize there was a- a storm underway."

James stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, we're in for a big one."

A clap of thunder made Lily jump and whimper.

"What?" James asked, concerned. "What's the matter?"

Wide-eyed, Lily shook her head. "N-Nothing, I thought I saw a-a—someone."

Clearly not believing her, James' eyebrow quickly rose.

"_What_?" she snapped. She did _not_ like that glint in Potter's eyes.

"You—you're afraid of Thunder aren't you?" he asked in a taunting manner. His eyes were wide with a mixture of shock, mischief and amusement and there was a twinkle in them that Lily found _most_ endearing. She wanted to kick him for it.

"Of course I'm not!" she answered coldly but her words were betrayed by a rather violent shiver.

"Liar."

"I am not!"

"Yes you are!"

"NO, I am _not_." She answered with the utmost indignation. "And that is _final_."

Suddenly, another clap of thunder echoed throughout the castle, causing Lily to jump again.

"See." James smirked.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and before James Potter knew it, he was on the floor from a blow to the head.

An angry Lily Evans with a heavy book bag was certainly not something you dealt with lightly.

It was no secret that Lily Evans became highly volatile when James Potter was around. There was just something about the boy that infuriated her to no end. Her friends said it was because she cared about him more than she knew, to which Lily answered that they were all in dire need of psychiatric attention.

It is however a fact (of which Lily had only just discovered) that running around in a deserted castle ion the dark during a thunderstorm would bring out all of the irrational fears in her bones.

Every whisper of the wind felt like some ghoul moaning in her ear. Every rustle of leaves sounded like rattlesnakes prowling beside her ankles. The very darkness of the castle seemed to contract and she thought she saw clawed shadows reaching out at her. She no longer knew where she was going, in fact, she no longer felt like she was at Hogwarts. Such is the effect of fear.

A loud, roaring clap of thunder resonated through Lily's ears, being the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. She let out a scream and covered her head with her hands, sinking to the floor.

Now unbeknownst to our little redhead, James Potter, who had indeed grown a conscience and manners, was worriedly searching for her.

He had not meant anything when he had deduced her fear. But clearly, he had been misinterpreted. James made a mental note to speak more clearly, especially to Lily as she packed one mean attack.

A scream echoed from somewhere to his left and he sprinted forward searching.

After rounding a few corners, he found the small figure of Lily Evans on the floor.

"Lily," he muttered, gently pulling her upright. "Lily, listen to me. It's ok. It's me, it' James. Look, I'm sorry if you thought I was insulting you earlier, I didn't mean anything by it. I was just surprised—and"

He was cut short when he noticed that the girl he was holding by the arm was shaking violently.

"Lily?" he began cautiously, in case she exploded on him again.

He gently put a hand under her shin and turned her face upwards only to see that she was I tears.

"Lily, what's wrong?"

"I—I feel so stupid but I was just so scared!" she answered mumbling incoherently as the tears coursed down her cheeks.

Acting on instinct, and hoping to God she didn't kill him later on for doing this, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer to him.

"Shh…" he whispered soothingly. "I'm here, you don't have to be afraid."

Normally, Lily didn't condone this kind of behavior. Especially not from James Potter of all people, but there she was being comforted by him. And he was succeeding quite spectacularly might I add.

Acting purely upon instinct, she put her arms around James' waist pulling them closer to each other than they already were before whispering, "James?"

"Yes?" he answered pulling away from her. She really rather wished he didn't.

"I think," she began. "I think maybe—I like you."

She waited for the full impact of the words to set in. had she really said it?

James' eyes grew wide with shock. "Really?"

Well, obviously she had said it and really there was only one answer to his question.

With a smile on her lips she answered. "Yes."

And with that said, an elated James Potter lowered his lips towards a content Lily Evans and the rest, as they say is history.

And as James Potters arms snaked around her waist, Lily Evans who once greatly feared thunderstorms could not help but think that they weren't so bad.


End file.
